Because Cuisine can be Contagious

Breakfast Treats

It was a sunny day in Copenhagen today (honestly rare for this time of the year), so I thought, “why not share a recipe for some eggs cooked sunny-side up?” While these weren’t quite the case (maybe due to the fact that I poached my eggs a minute too long), today’s post is all about this magical sauce, and how your meatless mondays, sunday brunches, or weekday lunches can be taken to a whole new level.

Shakshuka is dish of eggs wildly popular in Israel. Travel there and you’re likely to be served this for breakfast, lunch, and dinner (hopefully not the same thing three times in a row though)! The point is that this dish is so versatile that it can fit into any meal schedule. It certainly doesn’t live confined by any appropriate eating hour. A spicy and tangy tomato-based sauce is simmered away until it has thickened to a consistency of lusty ragout, and then it is crowned with cracked eggs, which are allowed to be poached gently until the whites have just set and the yolks are still runny. When you come in to dip with a piece of pita or crusty French bread, the yolks meld with the sauce and this combination is one of life’s best kept secrets.

There are many times where I can’t stop myself from drawing comparisons between Indian food and other cuisines. The minute I saw that this recipe contained cumin and turmeric, I couldn’t help, but think “Indian similarities” in my head. However, the combination that really gave off the Indian vibe was that of bringing together garlic and vinegar. In India we use a similar technique (well it actually originally came from the Portuguese) when making the world-famous dish, vindaloo. Known for being extremely spicy, the heat content in vindaloo comes from combining large amounts of garlic, chili peppers, and ginger. While one may think that the spiciness comes from the chili, it is actually a result of the addition of vinegar which not only exentuates the picant nature of chili peppers, but it also brings out hidden spice elements in ginger and garlic as well. Case and point, while I was making this shakshuka, I had only used a measly little jalapeno pepper, but quite a bit of garlic. When I added the vinegar (and this was just a small amount), I was surprised (in a good way of course) at the amount of heat the came out of the dish. It had me smiling and yet again reaffirmed by the phrase, “good food travels”.

Of course there are native flavor elements here that I wish to celebrate as well. Salty chunks of feta cheese and peppery arugula give Shakshuka its definite Mediterranean influence. Paprika adds a fine smokiness, but the spice that really had me singing praise was the wonderful taste of those caraway seeds. Imbued with the taste of liquorice, caraway seeds add a fennel-like freshness that comes when one uses fresh herbs to finish out a dish. The taste was present throughout in each and every bite, and it made this Shakshuka very Middle-Eastern indeed. Not to mention, the taste did have me licking my plate clean and wishing that I had made a bucket-load of sauce, so I could have had it frozen and ready at my disposal. These eggs are just that addicting folks.

In a large pan, heat the olive oil over medium heat. When it is hot, add the caraway seeds and toast them in the oil for about a minute, till they begin to release their aroma. Then add onions and garlic and cook for about 5 minutes, until softened. Then add the chili pepper, salt, pepper, cumin, turmeric, and paprika. Cook for a minute or two, stirring around frequently until the spices begin to release their fragrances.

Add the tomatoes, tomato paste, honey, and vinegar. Lower the heat and simmer the sauce for about 12-15 minutes, till it has thickened in consistency but still freely shake able around the pan. Stir in the greens.

Turn off the heat and press the feta cubes into the sauce, crushing them slightly. Make 4-6 indentations into the sauce with the back of a spoon. Crack an egg into each indentation. Drag the spatula ever so slightly across the egg whites so that they can meet up with the sauce, but DO NOT TOUCH THE EGG YOLKS.

Turn the heat back on and adjust it until the sauce is back at a gentle simmer. Cook for about 10 minutes, basting the egg whites with the sauce from time to time, but making sure that the egg yolks remain undisturbed. Then proceed to cover the pan and cook for 3 more minutes, if you want the egg yolks to remain runny, or 5 minutes if you want the egg yolks to be fully cooked. Serve warm at the table with plenty of crusty bread or pita for dipping.

Cooking Notes:

This could easily be transformed into a vegan recipe by replacing the feta cheese with olives and then substituting the eggs with either tofu or mushrooms.

You could make shakshuka without eggs and serve it over pasta if that floats your boat.

Wine Pairing: I was really craving a red wine when I made this, and I feel that something as robust and gutsy would play wonderfully with this meal.

Breakfasts in India are typically savory affairs, and there’s nothing like a little kick of spice to get you started in the morning. Egg Bhurji is a mashup of quickly scrambled eggs along with some finely chopped onions, peppers, and tomatoes, all tossed with a touch of spices. Although the ingredients and preparation can vary from region to region, the idea of making eggs this way was probably introduced by the Parsis, followers of the Zoroastrian religion, who emigrated to India from Iran about a thousand years ago. They have surprisingly managed to keep many of their original traditions and customs intact, including their very interesting cuisine. Even today a plate of Parsi akuri, consists of scrambled eggs, vegetables, and a couple of threads of saffron for good measure.

My rendition of Egg Bhurji is based of the versions I grew up eating, along with a couple of my own improvisations. For many people, the spice aspect of this dish is simply consists of green chilies, cilantro, and maybe a smidge of turmeric and cumin seeds. I take on the green chilies and cilantro, but I simplify things in the spice department, by simply throwing in a dash of curry powder. It is important to note that curry powder is not an Indian invention whatsoever, and rather it was created by Westerners who were trying to interpret the complexities of Indian cuisine and encapsulate them into a single spice blend. Therefore, I typically only use curry powder when I want to give simple things, such as these eggs, a little burst of exotic flavor. It works quite well because turmeric and eggs make for a wonderful combination. I finish off the dish with a little grated cheese to bring everything together and a sprinkle of black salt, which works perfectly here because it lends a sour note and it has an aroma reminiscent of boiled eggs. While eggs may originally be a breakfast thing, the volume of vegetables and the tingle of masala in this dish makes it fit for anytime during the day and any day of the week.

Recipe: Egg Bhurji

This recipe makes enough eggs for 1 person, but feel free to multiply the amounts to feed more people!

Heat a pat of butter in a small pan over medium heat. Once the butter is melted, add the onions, tomatoes, peppers, and green chili and saute for about 2-3 minutes, till the vegetables have softened a little. Then add the curry powder and cook for another minute. Pour in the eggs and scramble them till they are cooked through to your desired level of doneness. About a minute before finishing, sprinkle on the grated cheese to let it melt, and then add the cilantro. Remove the eggs from the heat and transfer to a plate. Sprinkle some black salt and pepper on top and enjoy with some toast, chapati, or naan.

Cooking Notes:

Black salt can be found in Indian grocery stores. If you can’t find it, use normal salt and perhaps add a little squeeze of lime juice to get that sour flavor.

I love making cinnamon rolls at home. Sure the process is a little time-consuming, but the endless hours spent rolling and waiting for the dough to rise is definitely worth it. Nothing can beat a hot and puffy cinnamon roll fresh out of the oven. The sweet aroma of cinnamon alone will make you a cooking rock star within minutes, with your friends and family swooning and falling to their knees. I know that working with yeast can sound intimidating for a lot of people, but after following this tutorial, I can assure you that breakfast breads will no longer be a menace in the kitchen.

Recipe Tutorial: Cinnamon Rolls with Cream Cheese Glaze

Adapted slightly from Food and Wine

Makes about 24 rolls

Ingredients

1 cup whole milk

2 envelopes active dry yeast

1/2 cup plus 1 pinch granulated sugar

2 sticks plus 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened

1 teaspoon salt, plus more for seasoning

2 large eggs, at room temperature

4 1/4 cups all-purpose flour, sifted

1/2 cup dark brown sugar, packed

1 tablespoon plus 1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 cup confectioner’s sugar

6 ounces cream cheese, softened

Method:

In a small, microwave-safe bowl or glass, microwave the milk at 30 second intervals until it is warm but not hot. Stir in the yeast and pinch of sugar. Allow the mixture to stand until foamy, about 5 minutes. Foaming is a sign that the yeast has activated, and if you miss this step, your cinnamon rolls will never rise.

In the bowl of an electric stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together the 1 stick of the butter with 1/2 cup of the granulated sugar and 1 teaspoon of the salt at a medium speed until the mixture is light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Beat in the eggs, 1 at a time, beating thoroughly after each addition. Reduce the speed to low and beat in 2 cups of the flour. Then beat in the warm milk mixture. Be sure to scrape any of the yeast that may be sitting in the bottom of the glass/bowl.

Scrape the dough into a large, well-oiled bowl. Cover the bowl loosely with plastic wrap. Allow the dough to stand in a warm, draftless place (I used the inside of the oven) until it has doubled in volume, about 1 hour.

Turn the dough out onto a well-floured work surface. Cut the dough into two portions. Roll each portion into a 14X14 inch square, about 1/4 inch thick. Roll the dough around the rolling-pin and then unroll it onto a parchment paper lined baking sheet. Repeat with the remaining piece of dough. Transfer the 2 sheets of dough to the freezer and freeze for about 15 minutes, till the dough is well chilled, but still pliable.

Meanwhile in a medium bowl, blend the remaining stick of butter with the dark brown sugar and 1 tablespoon of the cinnamon and a pinch of salt.

Remove the sheets of dough from the freezer. If the edges of your dough sheets are jagged or uneven, trim them so that you have a neat square. Then spread each sheet with half of the cinnamon butter.

Starting from one of the edges, tightly roll up the dough. Repeat with the other dough sheet. Transfer the dough log to the freezer to freeze for 20 minutes, until they are very cold.

Grease and line a 9X13 inch baking dish with parchment paper. Slice the logs into slices that are about 1-inch thick. Lay them in the pan next to each other, with no space between each roll. Cover the rolls with plastic wrap and allow them to rise in a warm place until risen and puffy, about 1 hour.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Remove the plastic from the rolls and bake them for about 40 minutes, until golden and risen. Let them stand for at least 5-10 minutes, before removing from the pan.

To make the glaze, beat together the cream cheese and 6 tablespoons of butter with the powdered sugar in the bowl of an electric stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. Add a splash of milk to thin it out a bit. Spread the glaze evenly over the cinnamon rolls.

Cooking Notes:

As I was trimming out my sheets of dough to make them even squares, I rolled out the scraps and made nutella rolls with them! They are practically the same thing, except for the fact that the cinnamon butter is replaced with a thick and luscious layer of NUTELLA. It was really, really yum!

They are of course many other variations you can make. You could stir in some chopped nuts into the filling or replace the cinnamon butter with frozen fruit, such as in these fabulous raspberry rolls.

When a fresh peach is at its prime, not only is it sweet, but it has a whole range of wonderful refreshing and thirst quenching properties. The flesh is smooth, tender, and juicy, and the mouthfeel one gets from taking that first bite is a truly divine experience. I have cooked with peaches in all sorts of ways, but I especially love to bake with them. As they sit in a batter, the peaches get heavy and the sweetness concentrates to provide vibrant bursts of joy within a slab of baked goodness.

These fluffy and delicate muffins are incredibly moist, and they have the crunchiest tops you could wish for. The recipe combines the peach with some of its closest friends: almond, vanilla, and cinnamon and sets it in a light batter enriched with perky splashes of buttermilk. The crumb topping is in reality, a continuation of the previous post in which I made mango and peach tarts. Since I had leftover topping, I threw it on top of the muffins. While all of the ingredients within the batter marry together and become one, the crumb topping acts as the spicy sister. It has a character all on its own, and somehow it just works. The pistachios provide the crunch, but they are also wonderfully meaty, and the candied ginger is full of zing and sweetness. I’d say that these muffins are a yet another triumph in the breakfast kitchen.

Recipe: Peach Cobbler Muffins

Adapted from Back in the Day Bakery Cookbook by Cheryl Day and Griffith Day

Ingredients

2 cups all-purpose flour

3/4 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

3/4 cup sugar

1 cup buttermilk

5 tablespoons vegetable oil

1 large egg

3/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 teaspoon almond extract

1 1/2 cups peeled, cubed peaches, preferably fresh

Crumb Topping

1/4 cup flour

1/4 cup chopped pistachios

2 tablespoons dark brown sugar

2 tablespoons chopped candied ginger

2 tablespoons softened unsalted butter

Mix all the ingredients in a bowl together using a fork or your fingers. Mix until the mixture clumps together to form coarse crumbs. Set aside.

Method

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Grease a 12 cup muffin pan or line with paper muffin cups. In a large bowl or stand mixer, combine the vegetable oil, egg, buttermilk, almond extract, and vanilla extract. Whisk together until combined. Then add the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and sugar. Mix until just combined. Gently fold in the peaches and be careful not to overmix. Divide the batter evenly amongst the muffin cups and top with the crumb topping. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, until the muffins are golden brown, and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Allow to cool in the pan for at least 10 minutes before removing.

As much as I love breakfast, I have to admit that it’s not exactly my forte when it comes to the kitchen. I have yet to find a pancake recipe that yields light and fluffy pancakes. Hence, I am still using pancake mix. I can not flip an omelette to save my life, and don’t even ask me to prepare any sort of breakfast meats because frankly, I have never had any. What I do succeed at, is making the baked goods. I have made fabulous cinnamon rolls and banana bread, yet when it comes to muffins, there has been mixed success. I think the biggest problem with muffin making is choosing the right recipe. A lot of the recipes out there aren’t that good, and they end up yielding a dozen dry and dense rocks. Frustrated with these results, I turned to using cake batter for my muffin base. These were definitely a lot more moist and tender, but they were too soft and sweet to be a breakfast treat. Besides the recipe selection, the second largest problem faced when creating muffins is trying to choose the right flavor combination. Since I am such a food lover, I also strive to go beyond the usual banana-nut and chocolate chip and try to create new and exciting flavor profiles. The results of such endeavours, garbage. Once I tried making a poached pear muffin, well more like just the poaching liquid thrown into the muffin because the pears had turned. The end result was a pile of muffins that had an interesting flavor, but frankly they were pretty awful. Later that year, I really thought that I would get funky and make these olive oil muffins filled with a strawberry balsamic jam. I was so thrilled about this one because I really thought that I could make the sweet and savory thing work. Unfortunately, I was not that experienced back then, and while the muffins were moist, the rich flavor of the extra-virgin olive oil was too much and off-putting to be enjoyed in the morning. Furthermore, my strawberry balsamic jam was a disaster because I ended up slipping a little too much vinegar into the pot. The resulting muffins were so bad that most of them ended up sliding right into the trash.

It has been almost two years since those incidents, and I feel that now I am for sure a much more proficient baker. After reviewing a couple of recipes closely, I chose a blueberry muffin recipe by Gale Gland, a rather well-known pastry chef who has worked at several high-end restaurants in Chicago and once hosted her own Food Network show. As I have been facing a growing desire lately to add my own touch to recipes, I decided to spoon a little blackberry jam into the muffin tins. After a speedy 25 minute baking time, the muffins that emerge out of the oven are glorious domes of tender and slightly moist goodies. They are bedazzled with fresh blueberries which lend a pop of sweet juice, and when you bite into the muffin, a glorious layer of blackberry jam emerges which adds a zing of tang. Best of all, are the muffin tops which I sprinkled with cinnamon-sugar before baking. That results in a texturally-pleasing crunchy top which contrasts so well with the soft muffin. Ah, finally I have made a breakthrough, and muffins are a problem no more!

Recipe: Blueberry Muffins filled with Blackberry Jam

Adapted from Gale Gland

Ingredients:

1 stick (8 tablespoons) unsalted butter, softened at room temperature

1 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar

2 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 3/4 cups fresh blueberries

2 cups flour

1/2 cup milk

1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 cup blackberry jam

Method:

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit. In a large bowl or mixer, cream the butter and 1 cup of the sugar together until well incorporated. Mix in the eggs, one at a time, the baking powder, vanilla extract, and salt. In a small bowl mash 1/2 cup of the blueberries with the back of a fork and add to the mix. Then add in 1 cup flour and 1/2 of the milk and mix at a low-speed. Repeat with the remaining flour and milk. Fold in the remaining blueberries in by hand.

Line you muffin tin with liners or nonstick spray. Place a spoonful of batter on the bottom of a cup. Place a spoonful of blackberry jam on top and place another spoonful of batter on top of that, so that your muffin cup is about 3/4 full. Repeat with the remaining muffin cups. In small bowl mix the two tablespoons of sugar with the cinnamon and sprinkle the tops of the muffins with the mixture. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, until golden brown and risen. Allow the muffins to cool in the pan for at least 30 minutes before removing.

Cooking Notes:

Be sure not overmix the batter, otherwise you will end up with rather dense muffins.

You can adjust the amount of blueberries to your liking. Use at least a total of 1 1/2 cups of blueberries, but feel free to go as high as over 2 cups if you desire.

The addition of the jam is purely optional, but I really like the dimension that it adds to the recipe. Any berry jam would work, or perhaps even a lemon marmalade.

What makes the perfect muffin? Is it a crispy top, a moist interior, or a feeling of satisfaction in your belly once you have consumed one of those humongous-sized ones that they sell at Costco? To be honest I think most of us enjoy the first two and maybe the third. Truth be told, for a long time I loved the muffins of Costco, but I have recently realized that they are too sweet, too big, and to be honest they just make me feel gross on the inside after I have eaten one. Yet, I still crave muffins. They are the underappreciated cousin of the cupcake, mostly because they are nowhere near as pretty as the wondrous creations made on Cupcake Wars, and they usually come in a pretty standard set of flavors (blueberry, banana nut, chocolate chip, lemon poppy-seed, etc.). Thus I guess my question is, why must we succumb to the boring and the bland when we have the power to create whatever sort of muffins we want! Now I’ll admit I love myself a good slice of banana bread so why not turn it into a muffin? All you got to do is pour the banana bread batter into a muffin tin instead of a loaf pan and “Voila!” banana bread muffins! They are light and moist and to give it an extra zing of flavor I threw some coffee into the batter to combine two classic breakfast favorites (muffins and coffee). The banana bread recipe comes from a children’s cookbook, but trust me, this recipe has been favorite of our family for as long as I can remember and it has been my go-to recipe for years. So throw out those yucky store-bought muffins that you probably have lying around and instead try a freshly baked dozen of these!

Recipe: Banana Bread Muffins

Adapted from the Alpha-Bakery Cookbook

Makes a dozen muffins

3/4 cup sugar

1 1/2 cups mashed bananas (3 large)

3/4 cup vegetable oil

2 eggs

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

2 teaspoons vanilla

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup strong prepared coffee (made by mixing about 1/2 of boiling water with a 1 teaspoon of instant coffee)

Ha! You’re probably reading this post now and thinking, “this kid is obsessed with raspberries”. Let me tell you that I’m not, but I will not deny that I love using them in recipes. They just seem to lend a great tart flavor to recipes that can otherwise be too sweet or too boring. It also happens that I had just finished the 1st semester of my senior year and I was eager to kick off my last semester of high school!

There is something very intriguing about the sweet roll. You have the yeasty bread or roll component that is soft and puffy. Then there is the filling, usually cinnamon but in this case I decided to use raspberries after seeing a great recipe for Raspberry Sweet Rolls in the January issue of Food and Wine magazine. I have to say I was not disappointed, the rolls are lovely covered in a sweet, buttery glaze and the raspberry filling is right on the money. Its tart quality helps the roll exfoliate the best of both flavor profiles, sweet and sour.

Method:
1. Make the Dough: Heat the milk till its warm (95 degrees F) and then place it bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook attachment. Then add the sugar and yeast and let the milk stand till its foamy (about 5 minutes). Add the softened butter, lemon zest, and salt. Add the flour and beat on medium speed till a dough forms, about 3 minutes. Then increase the speed to medium-high and beat until the dough is soft and supple, 10 minutes.
2. Scrape the dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead with your hands 2-3 times. Form the dough into a ball and place in a lightly greased bowl. Cover the dough with plastic wrap and let it sit in sit in a warm place until it has doubled in bulk, about 1-2 hours.
3. Line the bottom of a 9X13 baking dish with parchment paper or aluminum foil. Grease the paper or foil with butter or nonstick spray. Turn the dough out onto a lightly-floured work surface and roll with a rolling pin to form a 10X24 inch rectangle.
4. Make the filling: In a medium bowl, toss the frozen raspberries with the sugar and cornstarch. Spread the filling evenly over the dough. Tightly roll up the dough to form a 24-inch long log. Using a pairing knife, cut the log into quarters. Then cut each quarter into 4 slices and arrange them in the baking pan cut side up. Cover the rolls and let them rise in a warm place until they are puffy and have filled the baking pan, about 2 hours.
5. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Bake the rolls for 25 minutes, until they are golden and the berries are bubbling. Let them cool for about 30 minutes.
6. Make the Glaze: In a small bowl, whisk the confectioner’s sugar with the melted butter and heavy cream until the glaze is thick and spreadable.
7. Remove the rolls from the pan and place them on a platter. It may look like the rolls are all stuck together, but if you just cut along the boundaries of each roll they will come out the pan quite easily. Once you have removed them, spread the glaze over each roll with an offset spatula.